It’s time to check your texture

Poo. While it’s something we can’t avoid in our line of work, it’s pretty important to know what the state of our own poo means for our health.

Just like blocked pipes in our homes, sometimes our human plumbing doesn’t work quite as well it should

But unlike calling a plumber in to diagnose the problem, it can be a tough road to working out what’s causing your digestive issues. The rise of processed foods in our diet is thought to be one reason behind the significant increase in food intolerances and allergies in recent years.

Common ingredients in everyday meals include gluten, soy, dairy, and nuts and, adverse reactions to these are often identified through a quick blood test by your family GP. For some, slightly more ‘intrusive’ investigation is needed (yes, we’ve been there *shudder*) before the exact issue is pinpointed.

Identifying just what’s going on in your belly as early as possible is important, both for the relief of symptoms and for your long-term health.

We all know how serious (as in, immediately life-threatening serious) eating nuts maybe to someone who’s allergic, but other conditions can cause issues that compound over time to be just as nasty. Untreated diseases such as coeliac disease can mean a higher risk of developing bowel cancer.

So as June is Bowel Cancer Awareness month, with the positive message that early diagnosis saves lives, what better time to act on any niggling gut issues that just won’t go away?